Resurrection: Chapter 1   Labyrinth of fear
by Elismaniac
Summary: Fear. Fear of what? What the hell is fear? Looks like that our famous Draco Malfoy has a big problem. Very. big. problem.


**A/N1:** Yes, I know that Expecto patronum is used only against dementors, but long life fanfictions, friends! So sorry for that, but I want it that way, so you don't have a chance :D  
><strong>AN2:** this ff is originally in czech languague

**Translator's note:** Sorry, people, I am not English, American nor Canadian, so there can be mistakes in translation…

_translation by **Eliott Moon** - thank you sooooo much! 33_

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><p>To the darkened cabinet penetrated only few rays of sunlight. Dust sated on hundred years old schoolbooks slightly whirled, when skinny youth with unhealthy pale skin and blond hair recklessly closed the door and stopped for a moment in front of a trashy happy doormat which had colorful print of wolf footprints. He stared at it and tried not to regret his decision.<p>

The blonde stepped over the doormat without cleaning his shoes of it and continued his way into the room. Windows were covered in long black curtains on which reflected magically created stars. He looked away from them and slightly frowned when he figured that he is all alone in the room.

And he shouldn't be alone.

He grumpily kicked one of creaking steps which led in to the area not really different from the bottom part. Over the stairs stood huge table with a lot of papers around it, only not on it. Right behind it was placed enormous bookcase and narrow ladder with thirty seven steps was leaning against it. On the left was a fireplace, on which hung Christmas stocking. The youth closed his eyes and tried to calm himself down.

Christmas stocking hanging on the fireplace of teacher of Defence Against the Dark Arts. That's absolutely normal, every Hogwarts teacher does so!

There was light coughing, the boy forgot about his doubts of teacher's normality and turned after the source of distracting sound.

"Honestly, I thought you wouldn't come, Draco," a man, who was leaning against the rack of crystal containers with lake creatures marinated in salt water, asked in strong but slightly hoarse voice.

"Honestly," coughed the addressed one, "I thought the old grumpy man like you doesn't believe in these stupidities." He turned to fireplace and big stocking, which was silently swaying on it.

A silence fell upon them. Draco refused to start conversation about his problem which has been bothering him for weeks. He wouldn't just confide to this paranoid old man like a stupid child.

"Will you tell me, why did you decide for this spell?" asked the older one, not caring about the defiance with which Malfoy acted towards him. "Riddiculus is much easier and you don't need so much experience, opposite to the one you chose."

"It's non of your business, Lupin," he growled grumpily and looked at him angrily.

"To tell the truth, I think –"

"To tell the truth," Draco cut him defiantly and smirked coldly, "I don't give a shit about what you think."

Another while of silence was interrupted only by silent sounds of fire.

Lupin stepped away from the rack and made a short way to his table where a cup of hot steaming coffee waited for him. He smiled at Draco amusedly and sipped a little.

If Draco Malfoy regretted stepping into this room right behind the doors, now he was literally tearing his hair from his head. He won't stay with this man in one room for another minute!  
>He gritted his teeth and looked at cracking door which was just mere meters away from him. Making a decision and starting to run would be enough to get away from this room, from him…and never again think about asking help from someone like Remus Lupin.<p>

"So," professor Lupin placed his cup on the table and took his wand in his right hand instead. "The spell I am going to teach you belongs to advanced magic. You have to understand that even some perfectly schooled wizards aren't able to use this spell. To put it simply it's very challenging but very strong too – it's one of the strongest and most complicated spell ever, Draco."  
>Malfoy decided to forget negatives of this situation, inhaled deeply and nodded.<p>

"I get it."

"The spell works as a shield between you and something which could hurt you or anyone else. One happy memory or thought is enough if it fulfills you with happiness. It must be strong or you have to forget about conjuring up physically strong Patronus."

"I get it."

"Alright," Lupin motioned Draco to get his wand and he got to an ebony chest. "You surely know, how the right formula sounds, but if you won't be fully concentrated on your happy memory, nothing will happen. In that cause you should step away and let me take care of it. Boggarts can be pretty inventive sometimes, understand?"

His only reaction was slight nod.

"Close your eyes," Lupin's kind voice filled Draco's ears. He let his eyelids drop. His body was shivering with anticipation and thrill. Adrenaline was causing his heart to fibrillate and his hands tinged in a way that he almost doubted he still had the.

"Clean your mind…"  
>Train of crazy thoughts was going around Draco's mind. He balled his hands in fists and tried to get rid of stupidities he didn't need. And then he cursed his situation again. Right now he could be sitting on comfy couch in the Slytherin's tower and indulge in Pansy Parkinson's loving act. But no, he just had to come here and prove himself, again, what an idiot he is.<p>

"Draco," warned him Lupin. "Concentrate and don't think about unneeded things."

He felt as his wand slightly trembled in his fingers – its warmness made him feel itchy.

"Remember that memory and imagine you're living through it again – right here, right now. Concentrate on all details. Every smile, every word, every single second." This seemed to be the worse part for Draco. "Let the memory to help you." The oldie talked about it as if he knew something about it.

Draco growled silently and let his mind to get to memories which were related to so called "happiness". His mind created a shape of little boy wandering in a labyrinth of events which have ever happened to him.

His eleventh birthday. Long, nicely packed package. After ripping the paper a brand new Nimbus 2000 peered out. Of course, it wasn't one of happy memories. At the moment he sat on the broom, he flied through the window of his father's office and almost broke his neck when he hit the big oak, which was growing in their huge garden for hundreds of years.

Draco slightly shook his head and continued through the labyrinth. He stopped for a moment and remembered when he defeated Potter in Quidditch for the first time. That day was raining heavily. He remembered himself being frozen to bone. He even remembered that his wet clothes caused that he almost slipped of his broom, but fortunately it didn't happen. He caught the Snitch. Whole stadium applauded him. Of course except the area of Gryffinfors. And right after that he was named as a Slytherin's captain. He couldn't sleep for three days out of happiness.

Yes, that had to be it. It had surely been the happiest memory of his whole life.

Slowly, he opened his eyes and tried to get used to uncomfortable dimed light and dusty surroundings. He watched Lupin, as he was bent over the hideous chest which will soon reveal its miracle he was so feared of.

Fear. Until a very recent time he thought he couldn't feel it but he was terribly wrong. Sleepless nights, days full of fear from something he couldn't really describe. He didn't sleep because he didn't want the terrible dreams to come and he stopped attending lessons, so his enemies wouldn't notice that he looked like a zombie.

He needed to know what his weakness was and he needed another thing – he had to know how to destroy this weakness and make it his benefit. To put it simply, he had to know how to face his fears.

"Hold the memory strongly as if your life depended on it."

"I-try," he retorted through the gritted teeth and almost unmoving lips. The only thing he cared for now, was the chest and what was in it.

Lupin nodded and unlocked the first lock, then the second and then the third. The cover moved up slightly but still stayed closed. Professor pulled the cover and violently opened the chest.

Draco felt weak breath of wind which caressed his cheek.

Silence.

He stared at the chest with outstretched wand and waited what kind of monsters would come out of it. Could it be his father? Or Snape? Or maybe Voldemort? Whatever it was, it wasn't really excited about getting out of the chest, or it was just taking its time.

„Lupin!" he howled desperately. "It's not working!"

"It is," Lupin answered without hesitation. "You have to be patient and –"  
>He couldn't say it to the end. The chest shook and started making cold squeaky noises, as if there was something climbing up its side. With loud crack few really pale fingers appeared suddenly on the rim and they gripped it tightly, pawing at varnished wood.<p>

Draco fearfully withdrew from the chest.

Temperature dropped almost under the freezing-point and from the chest elegantly stepped pale figure which was surrounded by dense grayish mist smelling like rotting clay. Malfoy coughed and closed his eyes tightly. The haze was like a wave of dust, clay and crashed chalk, which was tearing his eyes. "Shit!" his curse sounded almost hollow which surprised him if not scared. Slowly…very slowly he tried to open his eyes.

Mist started to wander over the filthy floor and Draco finally had the chance to know what his biggest weakness was, what was his biggest fear, what was getting him in so big depresses. He inhaled a wheezy breath and let his eyes to adapt to sudden change of air structure.

It was a woman. Her whole body was wrapped in old bandages, pieces of cloth and something else Draco couldn't describe. Through yellowish bandages he could see her vivid skin. Her hair was white as snow, but some strands were as dark as coal, filthy or knotted in dreadlocks…they were pulled in untidy bun, here or there was some hair sticking up from it. Her eyes were sensually closed and coldly blue, lips full and bloody red.

She looked like walking dead, even though she was the most seductive woman he ever saw.

"Draco," she addressed him without moving her magical lips. "Draco…" She was talking without moving her lips and then she grinned maliciously. Her grin changed in sarcastic smile, thanks to that from her lips peered out her yellowish sharp teeth which assured Draco, that she wasn't any nice girl who would go out with him to get a butterbeer.

"U-E YO-R W-ND!" hollow yell from somewhere, hell knows where.

Pale woman smiled and licked her lips.

"DRACO! USE YOUR WAND!" It was Lupin. Draco winced as if he realized what he had to do. Rigidly, he outstretched his wand again and gripped it more tightly than before. She just laughed amusedly.

"Soon, Draco," she whispered with smile on her lips. "Very soon."

"Expexto-"

"We will meet…soon, I promise."

"Expecto patronum!", "Riddikulus!" Two spells in the exactly same time.

To Draco's surprise there wasn't any blue light, but still the girl stiffened and right after that she exploded in thousands small pieces, in form of dull fragments, which fell heavily on the floor and changed to dust.

His stomach clenched, he dropped on his knees and tried not to faint.

"Draco, for dear God, what kind of memory was that?" Lupin rushed to him with hysterical expression. "Have you thought about defeating Potter or what?" The oldie was more scaring than the girl.

"Not important," he growled and ignored the fact, that Lupin was so kind and made the horribly seductive girl disappear. "What the hell was that bitch?" he barked then, when he was trying to get up from the floor.

He dusted off his pants and put his wand in the sleeve. Then he turned to Lupin, waiting for explanation.

"It was Death." It seemed that Lupin was absolutely serious.

"Bullshit!" he growled grumpily and really upset.

Lupin looked away and sat on padded armchair. "I saw her few times but never heard her voice," he exhaled. "Some of my friend unfortunately heard it…"

"How do you mean it?"

Lupin looked straight in his eyes. When he stopped his silence, Draco's heart stopped for a moment. "She talks only with the ones who will die."  
>It must have been the most absurd thing which every happened to him. This all was absolutely stupid and it had only minimal chance to really happen.<p>

He tried to calm himself down, which didn't belong to his habits, but the fact that the one and only Death has spoken to him, helped him to forget his habits. More when Lupin said he would die.

Try to find something positive about it, he kept telling himself. Positive? I am going to die? What the fuck could be positive about it?

"Did you hear her?" asked professor with quirked eyebrows and worry written in his face.

Draco looked at him and for a long while he was quiet. Then he lied without any problems.

"No," his voice was almost inaudible. "No, I didn't hear her. She was just standing there, giggling and excitedly moving like she wanted to chat me up." He lied so fast Lupin started having suspicions.

"Ah so…" Remus smiled at last with relieve when he stopped scanning Draco's unmoving uncaring face. "Lucky you, then. You can't overrule death."

Draco stiffened and swallowed dryly. He started to choke, even though all around them was huge amount of oxygen. "You can't overrule death?" he asked nervously. "But Voldemort-"

"Don't say that name!" warned him Lupin, but the blonde just rolled his eyes.

"Voldemort," he said quickly and didn't say anything to Lupin's warning. "He overruled death, or not? We learn it again and again: _Voldemort survived his own death, Voldemort is resurrected, Voldemort avoided Death-_"

"_He avoided Death_," Lupin interrupted him. "The avoiding part is really important there, don't you think?"

"Honestly?" he asked with some part of irony.

Lupin sighed. "He hid parts of his soul in Horcruxes, so he couldn't be just killed."

"I see," Draco crossed arms across his chest. "So you're saying that if someone wanted to avoid death, he should just find some trinkets, put part of your soul in it and there is a hope he won't die?"

"I doubt it," Lupin answered without thinking about it. "One: You-Know-Who parted his soul long time before his curse turned against him. He didn't know, he would die.  
>Two: When Death is speaking to you, it means you will die soon, so you wouldn't have time to crate Horcruxes.<br>Three: Even if you had months for it, it's dark magic – very dangerous magic. You need a lot of experience, strength and patience, so it's kinda impossible for someone to create a Horcrux to protect themselves from Death who warned them they will die soon."

Draco couldn't say a word.

"You don't have to be bothered," Lupin grinned. "But still there must be a reason why it was her who appeared." He looked at the chest and frowned. "Are you scared of death, Draco?" he asked straightforwardly.

_Am I scared of death? How can I know? Only thing I am absolutely sure of, is that I am really scared of my soon end!_

"By the way," he interrupted Draco's train of thoughts. "What the hell were you thinking about while using Expecto?"

"Guess!" he growled, irritated.

Lupin laughed. He was right about Harry.

"Is it really your happiest memory?"

"Defeating Potter in Quiditch, catching Snitch, becoming the team captain and getting a new broomstick from Snape? Yeah, it's my happiest memory. Got a problem, Wolfie?"  
>Lupin ignored the defiant nickname.<p>

"I supposed it wouldn't be connected to your family."

"Shu-shut up, Lupin," young Malfoy gritted his teeth. "I had a lot of nice moments with mother and even with father-"

"But not so nice to protect you from your inner fears. I understand that these memories are unique – and really important for you. But they still weren't strong enough."

"Hn."

"You must have at least one happy memory, which literally makes you smile, which warms you up, get it? Until you find it, you can't use Expecto Patronum."

"And what am I supposed to do? Create some happy thoughts?" he barked.

"Of course not. It would be enough just to remember some old memories. From childhood to your first day in school. The time between is full of funny, if not loving, situations. But as you grow up, you can't keep them all…"

"Couldn't you just get to the point?"

"What if we tried to wake these memories?" Draco raised his right eyebrow.

"Isn't it dangerous?" he asked suspiciously.

"Name one thing in this castle which isn't dangerous."

"Goyle, Mudblood, my room – right now," he showed that he intended to leave and not to deal with his fears.

"Draco," Remus sighed. "It would help you."

"Never," he answered definitely. "I don't intend to risk my beautiful neck." And not just because just few moments ago Death warned him that he was supposed to die. "So thanks, I don't wanna. You can't force me…and it's time for me to say goodbye, Blaise needs my help with spell, which will Parvati use to conjure you bat ears. Bye."

"More like 'See you soon'," Lupin corrected him.


End file.
